We lived that existence for 13 years. I taught high school in the rural south and with a stay home wife and 3 kids we barely made it from check to check. I can't count how many times I was counting/rolling pennies so I could put gas in the truck the next morning to get to school. Lots of PBJ lunches and lots of macaroni cheese for dinner. NC just did not pay us enough to survive, and I was lucky, I also had Army Reserve money coming in each month. But that meant I was missing one weekend a month with my wife and kids. We survived but it was ugly. We are more stable and safe from small emergencies now, but we never forget what it was like when we were living on a teachers salary. I will be retiring from the Army in two more years and return to teaching once again. I can hardly wait to be back in a high school classroom.

Too evil, and too beholden to the hyper-rich

It all changed after Vietnam, when we would not fight their stupid war, they decided to start keeping all the money for themselves and their friends, and they have worked relentlessly and disingenuously in that direction ever since. I watched it.

They, of course, think that they deserve to be taken care of for life, and always have.

have a 3rd world country

We are rich! Rich I tell you!